


Of Secrets and Old Stories

by totalnovaktrash



Series: Cadbury Universe [8]
Category: Merlin (TV), Supernatural
Genre: Alice comes in through the window and no one is phased, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Cadbury!verse, Crossover, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Stanford Era, the british men of letters suck, we know her by now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 16:52:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16664587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totalnovaktrash/pseuds/totalnovaktrash
Summary: Thanks so much to hyrulehearts1123 and LadyShadowphyre and randomfandoms153 for being my motivators on this bit <3Secrets and Old Stories takes place in between chapters 3 and 4 of Reincarnations and Rivalries





	Of Secrets and Old Stories

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Of Poltergeists and Gilded Cages](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15805455) by [UmbraeCalamitas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UmbraeCalamitas/pseuds/UmbraeCalamitas). 



> Thanks so much to hyrulehearts1123 and LadyShadowphyre and randomfandoms153 for being my motivators on this bit <3
> 
> Secrets and Old Stories takes place in between chapters 3 and 4 of Reincarnations and Rivalries

Arthur frowned at the door as he knocked again. The adrenaline from the fight with the Poltergeist was gone, everything hurt, and he felt sick. He wasn’t even entirely sure why he hadn’t just gone home but—

The door opened. Arthur blinked. _Oh shit,_ he thought, _they look angry._  

Bennie pulled him inside.

* * *

Bennie was  _ furious _ . 

What the  _ HELL _ was he thinking?! The world goes weird and he’s off in a haunted building and not answering his stupid phone! And then he had, what, wandered all the way to their apartment with a concussion? 

Bennie had gotten Arthur to the couch before dealing with the situation the only way the could in the midst of their panic. 

Magic. And then knocking Arthur unconscious with more magic. 

“Merlin was right about you,” they grumbled, glaring at their unconscious brother. “Goddamn cabbage head.”

Agitated, they started pacing again. Arthur couldn’t be running off to have adventures on his own. Not now. Not when they were dealing with Morgan’s memories and magic and definitely not when that damn cult was getting closer to Palo Alto. 

Bennie could still remember the chill that had gone through them when they had first heard tell of an anti-magic group back in Camelot. The sentiment in and of itself wasn’t uncommon, but Merlin seemed particularly worried about a group that seemed to be willing to do whatever it took to get Isabene off the throne. Including using magic to try and recreate Excalibur. 

It seemed a bit hypocritical, really. But regardless they had succeeded. They had killed Isabene, effectively destroying Camelot. 

Bennie had been understandably upset when they found out that the group still existed nearly two thousand years later. According to Merlin’s sources, they had even cropped up in America and apparently the Men of Letters we’re getting closer and closer to California with every report he received. 

Memories or no, anyone who took one look at Arthur could see that he was no ordinary security guard. And anyone with access to the internet could find information on the King family. They were vulnerable. 

Isabene hasn’t been able to stop them from toppling the throne of Camelot when they were new, how was Bennie supposed to stop them now?

“You’re going to wear a hole in the carpet, Ben.”

Bennie jumped as Gavin kicked the door closed and handed them a coffee cup. They took a sip, it was Rift coffee, but coffee nonetheless. “He’s not waking up.”

“People sleep. I know that’s a novel concept to professors who stay up all night grading papers and planning curriculum.”

Bennie just scoffed and sunk into a chair, putting their head in their hands. Gavin set his coffee down and sat on the arm of the chair. 

“What’s really bothering you?” he asked softly. 

“Something’s coming, Gavin,” they admitted. “Something bad. There are too many things that can go wrong, too many people who can get hurt. What if…” A dozen scenarios flew through their mind. Their friends being hunted down and killed, unaware as to why. Or worse, a mass memory trigger. Having to face Uther, Gaius, Morgause, and anyone else that may be back. “What if everything falls apart.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Gavin said. 

“You don’t know that.”

“And you don’t know that it will. Regardless, whatever happens, you know I’m gonna be here fighting for you.”

They shot him a wane smile. “Ah, yes, my Knight in red flannel,” they said, poking him in the shoulder. 

Gavin leaned in but jumped at the sound of something tapping on the window. He sighed but got up to push the window open. “Something I can do for you, Summers?”

“Scootch and let me in, it’s freezing out here.”

Bennie snorted at the sight of Alice easily slipping in through the too small gap. “I don’t think he’s up for a chase today, Alice.”

“I know. Sam sent me to check to make sure he was okay.”

Bennie’s shoulders tensed. “Sam?”

“Mhm, apparently he and King broke into the haunted dorm last night to try and play heroes.” Alice’s gaze flicked to Gavin before looking back at Bennie meaningfully. “Sam says Arthur tripped down a whole flight of stairs.”

Gavin laughed. “No kidding? He’s never living that down.”

Bennie scowled. Whatever was haunting that building was strong enough to toss a full grown man around? They didn’t like the sound of that  _ at all.  _ “Is Sam alright?”

Alice’s expression darkened. “Scared the shit out of everyone, but he’ll live.”

“That’s a relief,” Arthur groaned. 

Bennie was hovering over him in an instant. “You idiotic, reckless, stupid moron!”

“Love you too."

“Why the  _ hell _ would you break into a haunted building with just a  _ kid _ as your backup?”

“There’s no such thing as ghosts, Bennie,” Arthur said. “Besides, I was just doing patrol. Sam’s the one who broke in.” Alice laughed and Arthur tensed. “What’s  _ she  _ doing here?”

“Relax,” Alice snickered. “Sam wanted to know you were okay.”

“I’m not,” he deadpanned. “I’m dying and everything hurts.”

Gavin snorted “That’s what happens when you take a tumble, Princess.” 

Arthur made a face at him. “And Sam’s fine? You said he’s okay?”

Alice nodded. “He’s at the Bean. Rey had sent him to calm down Merlin.”

“What’s wrong with Merlin?” Bennie asked. 

Arthur looked increasing uncomfortable. 

“YOU CAME HERE WITHOUT LETTING HIM KNOW YOU WERE OKAY?” 

“Ow! Bennie, you can’t hit me, I’m injured!”

* * *

Merlin wasn’t sure his day could get any more stressful. 

Something had gone very, very wrong the night before. Rey had assured him that whatever it was, it had been taken care of, which was great and all, but that didn’t change the fact that Arthur still wasn’t answering his phone. 

The message from Gwen asking him to help Kathy out at the Bean was expected— Gwen always vanished on a family vacation after strange occurrences on campus— but not the distraction he would’ve liked. 

How long had he been drying this mug for?

“Hey… Merlin.”

Merlin didn’t look up from the mug. “Hi, Sam. What’s up?”

“Well, I had a question. Is Arthur  _ King Arthur… _ ”

Merlin’s heart stopped. Sam Winchester kept talking, but he wasn’t hearing the words. 

No, this couldn’t be happening. He did not have the energy to be dealing with people finding out. Not now. Not with  _ Sam _ . “No, no, I’m not-- I mean Arthur’s not-- I…”  _ SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!  _ “I’m just… a street magician! Right. I can pull a quarter from behind your ear?”

Sam just stared at him, which Merlin guessed was fair. “Sorry… I was... Well, I was here after Morgan remembered. Or, I guess I was  _ why _ she remembered. So I… uh… I  _ know _ .”

_ Oh _ .

“Oh. so they… okay.” Merlin vaguely remembered Bennie mentioning that Rey had triggered Morgan’s memory because there had been a student in danger. It being Sam was unsurprising, to say the least. “Okay then!” He pulled the shattered remains of the mug he had dropped in his panic back together. “So, what were you asking? About Arthur? Yes. But he doesn’t know that and we’re not going to tell him before he remembers on his own, so also  _ no. _ ”

This, of course, was working off the assumption that Bennie wasn’t about to get sick of his flimsy excuses for not triggering Arthur’s memories themself and go rogue. But they wouldn’t do something like that without letting him know first. 

Probably.

_ Shit, had Bennie checked in last night? _

“I won’t say anything,” Sam assured him, which was a huge relief. “But, to sate my own curiosity, there’s a Gwen and Lance, too?”

“Yeah. Gwen and Lance are pretty obvious. You’ve met Gavin.”

“Gawain.”

Merlin smiled. The kid knew his legends. “Yeah. You know Morgan and Isabene too.” He thought for a moment, trying to recall if anyone else had mentioned meeting the infamous Sam Winchester. “I don’t think you’ve met Percy, Leon, or Elliot yet. You actually just missed Elliot. He and Gwen just left with their parents.”

“How many of them remember?” Sam questioned.

“Besides Isabene and myself? Morgan.”

“That… that’s it?”

“It could be years, Sam. They might not ever remember. I’ve run into them all before, you know-- all of them except Arthur. Sometimes they remembered. Usually, they didn’t.” He smiled, remembering the ridiculousness that would always accompany Isabene’s various incarnations being reminded of their past. “It’d be kinder if Fate didn’t make them remember.”

“What about you?”

The question caught Merlin off guard. “I always remember.”

“No, but… wouldn’t it be kinder to you to have someone else there? To have your friends back?”

Merlin was instantly reminded of what happened the last time more than one of his friends recalled their past. He remembered the screaming arguments and death and the betrayal and… “I have Bennie,” he said, shoving the memories away. “And this isn’t about me, Sam. It’s about them. It’s about Arthur. It was always about Arthur.”

And that was the truth, wasn’t it? That’s why Merlin was still alive, that’s what he’s been waiting for this whole time.  _ Arthur _ .

If the clotpole had gotten himself killed, Merlin was going to murder him.

“Arthur ended up catching me breaking into the haunted dormitory last night. He helped me stop the poltergeist. He’s probably the only reason I didn’t start haunting the place myself. He’s probably even worse off than I am today. He got thrown down a flight of stairs at one point.”  

_ I’m going to murder him anyway.  _ “Do you know where he went afterward? He didn’t come home and he’s not answering his phone.”

“I didn’t,” Sam admitted. “He told me he had to finish up his rounds, or at least check in, and I was supposed to go back to my apartment right away. But I asked Alice if she would look in on him.”  

Ah, well that would be punishment enough. “You asked  _ Alice _ to check in on Arthur?”

“Well, she does seem oddly capable of getting into places. I figured she could manage to do it without waking him if he was sleeping.”

“Could she? Sure. Will she? I guess we’ll see.”

“Hey, I can be stealthy when I want to. Didn’t wake you up this morning, did I, Sam?”

Sam flushed. “N-no.”

“See? Stealth.” Alice took the cup from Merlin before he could break it again. “Arthur is at Gavin and Bennie’s place. His phone battery is dead. If you listen to him-- and I don’t recommend it-- he’s dying because he’s in so much pain.” She rolled her eyes. “So I’m going to be nice and ask Kathy to make him a muscle relief cream or potion or whatever she has on hand. Probably the entire kitchen, knowing Kathy.” She pointed a finger at Sam. “You’re getting some, too, so don’t go running off anywhere.”

She vaulted herself over the counter and poked Merlin in the side with a spoon. “But you should probably definitely go see him, kidnap him, and take him back to your place. I think Gavin and Bennie want some alone time. Don’t ask me how I know. Don’t. Ever. Ask.”

“Does this happen a lot to you?” Sam asked

“Friends getting into fights with monsters, disappearing for hours to days, claiming to be dying, possibly dying, and everyone else just sits back drinking coffee because it must be Tuesday?”  _ Not since Camelot fell. _ “Must be Tuesday.”

Merlin took off his apron and pulled out his phone. He trusted Kathy to hold her own until he got back. He had a reincarnated king to deal with.

**Author's Note:**

>   
>  All is Fair has an [ask blog](https://askthecamelotcrew.tumblr.com) and a [Discord](https://discord.gg/x8ssMEH)!


End file.
